Astros report: Norris roughed up early, often in ugly loss

The Cardinals scored in every inning but the third during the initial six frames, held a 6-0 lead after the fourth and held on for a 9-5 victory over the Astros on Tuesday at Busch Stadium.

Astros starter Bud Norris gave up 11 hits and seven runs in five innings, falling to 6-8 while his ERA rose to 3.63 as the Astros (32-58) stumbled to a 12th defeat in 16 games.

“He ran into a good-hitting ballclub, and sometimes you just have to tip your cap,” Astros manager Bo Porter said. “It was more about the Cardinals than it was about Bud.”

St. Louis (54-34) was guided by seven strong innings of one-run, five-hit ball from Adam Wainwright, who struck out nine and walked one.

The Cardinals took a quick 2-0 lead on Matt Holliday’s two-run homer in the first inning.

St. Louis loaded the bases with no outs in the second, and a Matt Carpenter sacrifice fly stretched the lead to 3-0.

Three runs in the fourth followed, and it was 7-1 St. Louis by the time Lucas Harrell took over for Norris in the sixth.

The Astros’ former No. 2 starter gave up four hits, two runs and two walks in three shaky innings during his first relief appearance this season.

Carter’s hand remains an issue

Chris Carter insisted he was fine late Friday after being hit on the right hand by a thrown ball while diving into second base during the Astros’ 10-5 loss at Texas.

The club’s home run leader was relegated to pinch-hitter status for the second straight game Tuesday. Carter took batting practice in St. Louis, but manager Bo Porter acknowledged that one of the team’s few sources of power was still dealing with a minor injury that has kept him out of the lineup three consecutive games.

“I shook his hand, and he said, ‘It’s OK for me to shake your hand. But if you squeeze, it hurts.’ ” Porter said.

Appel shines, earns promotion

Mark Appel’s second pro start was exactly what the Astros were hoping for.

The No. 1 overall pick of the 2013 MLB amateur draft threw three scoreless innings Tuesday for short-season Class A Tri-City, striking out five and walking none while allowing three hits.

“He was pretty dominant,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “We expected him to do well at the level, so it’s time for us to challenge him.”

Following the outing, the Astros promoted the righthander to low Class A Quad Cities, where he’ll join 2012 No. 1 pick Carlos Correa and some of the organization’s top young prospects.

Appel will make his first start with the River Bandits on Sunday and likely will have an extended run with the team. A second promotion to Class AA Corpus Christ remains a possibility.

Wojciechowski was acquired by the Astros last July during a 10-player trade with Toronto centered around J.A. Happ.

“I’ve always been a believer in Wojo since I saw him at The Citadel, and I think we bought low on him last year,” general manager Jeff Luhnow said. “What he did last night was not surprising to me.”

Wojciechowski is a combined 7-5 with a 2.82 ERA this season, striking out 93 and walking 36 in 1051⁄3 innings, the bulk of which have come since he was promoted from Class AA Corpus Christi.

Odds and ends

General manager Jeff Luhnow continues to assert the Astros won’t rush top prospect George Springer, who is hitting .422 (19-for-45) with six home runs — including two on Tuesday — and has 15 RBIs in 13 games since being promoted to Class AAA Oklahoma City.

The Astros plan to keep Springer, who started the year with Class AA Corpus Christi, in an OKC uniform through September. A late-season call-up remains to be determined.

“It depends what our objectives are in September,” Luhnow said. “We’ll know more about that as we get closer.”

OKC shortstop Jonathan Villar could join the Astros after the July 31 trade deadline and before September call-ups begin.

“I think we’re all curious to see how he fits into next year’s team,” Luhnow said. “And there’s really only one way to find out, and that’s to bring him up and let him play.”